5 comments about Writing, Directing, and Producing Documentary Films and Videos, Fourth Edition.

1. In starting something new, the potential making missteps that can derail the whole process is always present. This book helps you avoid those and has advice on how you can develop a quality product that people will want to see. Very worthwhile.



2. Even while reading this book I was able to pitch an idea for an event and documentary project, my first, and gain acceptance for the project. The concepts are helpful as well as practical.
   I read a lot of books once I am interested in a subject and I would place this one at the top for documentaries.



3. There is little in written text that summarise the worth of this book. I was so moved by its detailed and incisive content and direction that I sold my kids to afford the time and space, the peace required to absorb the rivetting content.
   As I sat at my video production terminal I realised that the nirvana of books on docudrama had been produced. This is the sort of book that makes you go and get the authors name tattooed on your butt.
   Buy , buy , buy ..



4. This book is a masterful resource for any filmmaker regardless of their expertise.

   No one has come close in their summation of the documentary process. It is 2001, the book was released in 1996, it is timeless. The best book on the market, a better book could only be devised by the author.

   Four years of preperation in one book. Every student, professional filmmaker, enthusiast should have it. I have even allowed persons/subjects whom I was documenting to read this book. It made the process that much easier. They were extremely thankful. PURCHASE THE BOOK.




5. I find myself opening this book up over and over again . I have learned alot from the writer of this book . I would tell anyone who is going to make a documentary , they should have this book on there desk.

5 comments about The Stratocaster Chronicles: Celebrating 50 Years of the Fender Strat.

1. Incredible book. The whole story of the Fender Strat and Fender Musical Co., beautiful pictures and a deep analisys on different versions of who designed what!!! A lot of people have different versions of the story but at the end the picture is so much clearer. I tell you, this book is only for hardcore strat fans or collectors. 100% Recommended!!



2. Sometimes I think the rarest book of all is any good book on musical instruments. The market is FULL of make-a-quick-buck enthusiast books with poor content, bad writing, and indifferent quality. This one is a refreshing exception. It's a sweeping survey of the strat's history, but it's a good one, is very readable, and the pictures are excellent. I have to agree with another reviewer, though, that the accompanying CD is forgettable. It doesn't detract from the book itself, however. Well worth your while.



3. The Stratocaster Chronicles: Celebrating 50 Years of the Fender Strat
   
   I ordered this book for my son-in-law. He is a working musician, the owner of 30+ guitars, and the Strat is his favorite guitar (he owns several). The book arrived when promised and in perfect condition.
   Having been a guitarist in my own younger life I perused the book before wrapping and mailing it. It's a stunning beautiful look at the iconic guitar of a generation, and one which continues to stun us with the purity of its sound and the simple beauty of its shape.



4. The book is great and images are great. However, it was completely damage when it's arrived. Scratches everwhere. dented around the corners. I bought this book new, but it looks like someone has been throwing this book around before I got it.



5. The Stratocaster Chronicles: Celebrating 50 Years of the Fender Strat
   
   This is an amazing book. Every electrical guitar player should read this book. It tells about the history of your instrument! The book is wonderfully illustrated with lots of color pictures and it gives a lot of inside information about the Fender Strat.
   
   Great book for a great price !

5 comments about Contracts for the Film & Television Industry.

1. Good basic legal information oriented towards the independent feature film producer but useful for anyone who wants to produce film or other distributed video. Won't replace having an attorney but will allow you to do some things by yourself and understand what is going on when you need to hire one. Similar to "The Independent Film Producer's Survival Guide" but with enough distinct material (example contracts for instance) to be worth having both.



2. Comprehensive and a terrific resource. The goal is not to use the book instead of legal advice, but it is a terrific starting point.



3. This is a useful and inspirational book that explains a variety of legal film production matters and provides drafts of contracts for basically every aspect of film & TV production. And it covers all major players in the colossal process of making a film, helping to make sure that whatever your role in the production is, you understand your rights.



4. This book is a good collection of legal contracts for the industry, but it doesn't have a CD-ROM or associated website where you can download the contracts as a starting-point template.
   
   I believe the author is gouging us by forcing us to buy the CD separately. Very cheesy business practice. I hope you have OCR software to scan these pages into your computer.



5. Litwak provides about as much as a professional could share in this throrough outing. He also shares 'boilerplate' contracts for virtally all key players in a film production. Of course, direct experience is the best teacher, but EVERY neophyte in film or television must own this book, and its a handy reference for seasoned professionals and part-timers.

   Also check out his companion book, "Dealmaking..." which has priceless cues on what gray areas to avoid in negotiating with lawyers and their clients.

   Essential for producers, directors, writers and anyone hoping to get financed or paid or both!

5 comments about The Perfect Wrong Note: Learning to Trust Your Musical Self.

1. This book is absolutely enjoyable to read. I just couldn't stop reading it...I did not want to continue practicing without hearing all that William Westney had to say about practicing techniques (for any instrument, though mainly piano) and musicality. He uses great resources if you want to learn more about what he writes. His focus is getting in touch with the innate musician within you...a very positive and motivating book...highly recommended.



2. If you want to truly refresh your thinking about teaching music, this is the book. Explore with the author ways to bring enthusiasm and joy into the learning process... how to use 'honest mistakes" as tools. Be prepared to learn why traditional methods can sometimes harness creativity. This book described for me a way to help my students relax and welcome the journey into music. Whether teaching by traditional methods or not, this book is a must. Thanks, Mr. Westney, for the great read and the inspiring words.



3. Not really being part of the culture to which the author is reacting, I found this book to be captivating, if a bit strident. The unfortunate tendency towards perfectionism taints a great deal more than music instruction. The expectations of deference and respect on the basis of position weaken bishops and U.S. presidents as well as maestros and music teachers. Still, the control freak element runs deep. As an adult beginner taking piano lessons, I just see it from a different perspective. Take humor in the strutting of the popinjay, no need to be alarmed by it.
   
   Also, the man either knows nothing about golf, or else cheats on his scorecard. I suspect the former rather than the latter. But, a recorded lousy golf swing is just a lousy golf swing, while one left off the scorecard is, well, a reflection of character.
   
   However, on his home ground, the practice room and the recital stage, the author is very strong. Texas Tech is lucky to have him. Go, Red Raiders!



4. This is my favorite book about music-making (classical piano, in my case). Westney very convincingly makes the case for an overhaul of the way we approach music practice and performance. The 'juicy wrong note' idea promotes a wholistic, passionate attitude. It is NOT the idea of treating mistakes lightly...more, it's the attitude of making the mistake whole-heartedly and then learning what it has to tell you about your level of preparedness,an unsuspected weak point, etc. Westney does not cover specific how-to's (the best book on that for piano in my opinion is Berman's) but more the philosophy to bring to the practice room and to the performance. I'd give more stars if it were possible



5. I had a difficult time reading this, only because the content was so close to my own life/story. I could've sworn that William was writing about ME, and I relived many things that I didn't realize this book would create the avenue to surface. Fortunately, this book has helped me to begin to heal old, deep, and hidden grievances that have kept me from being the musical self that my soul longs and deserves to be ... until now.
   
   What a great way to address a very real issue. What a great way for me to finally resolve my childhood rejections of not being allowed to express myself at the very time I was creating my musical self.
   
   Thank you, William. I can now forgive and begin new again, this time without fear of repercussion in expressing what is in my heart and my soul, even if I'm the only one that appreciates it!

4 comments about Walt Disney: Young Movie Maker (Childhood of Famous Americans).

1. There are several books that put the biography of Walt Disney in a format meant for children, and this is the best of them. The majority of the book tells what Walt's life as a child was like. The publisher has produced a whole series of bio type books for young people, and has a good formula. They try to put the child in touch not only with the life deeds of the man, but his personality, and how he got his start. In understanding a great person from history, it is tremendously useful to know not just what he did, but why he did it. Who and what influenced this person. What was he like as a kid himself? Without these it is hard for a kid to connect to the historical figure, and this book accomplishes it very well. I highly reccommend! For a good adult bio, check the Bob Thomas book, or the Amy Boothe book.



2. Walt disney had an exciting childhood not to mention adult career. My children loved reading this book and having it read to them prior to visiting Disney World.



3. I really enjoyed reading this book. I thought that Walter was a very intelegent young person. I thought Marie Hammontree did an excelent job at making a usual boring biography into an intresting tale.I wish that there where many more pages in the book so I could read more and more about Walt Disney. I thought that Marie made him sound like a very lively young child. I thought that Walt was a very big risk taker. I would have hoped that the book would have had more information and details though. all in all I thought that this was a great book.



4. This book was enjoyable. Marie Hammontree described how a person can be a big success while being a little poor. It shows the ups and downs of Disney's life. She describes what it took to get to the top of his career. This book tells who he was inspired by and how they helped him. She told me his problems in his life and how they were solved. It gave me the puzzle pieces to his life so I could better understand it. All in all I think it was a really informative book.

5 comments about Gypsy: Memoirs of America's Most Celebrated Stripper.

1. If you're a fan of the musical Gypsy, like me, you'll read this book. I've read from various websites, that the book is not entirely factual and that you need to read Gypsy's sister June's book, early Havoc, to get a clearer picture of what life on the road was like. But, entirely accurate or not, it's highly fascinating and an excellent look at the theatre of the time.
   
   The book bears small resemblances to the show: There really was a monkey named Gigalo, Louise was given farm animals as pets for her birthday, there is a man that Rose links up with for several years who manages the troup, they did eat Chinese food constantly, make coats out of blankets, and a cow really talked to Rose in a dream.
   
   There are major differences between the show and the book: The switch from Vaudeville to Burlesque was less dramatic in the book than the show -almost natural. "Herbie", Rose's companion and manager, left long before the act went Burlesque. And one very 'big' difference: you'll notice in the show that Grandpa calls Louise "Plug" but we dont' really know why. The little girl playing Louise was too adorable for words and grew up to be the stunning Natalie Wood. But, Gypsy got the name plug because she was a large child. And she grew up large. It wasn't until a couple years in Burlesque that she became more svelte. This is also a major point in the books, detailing the diets she was on and how it destroyed her self-esteem as a child.
   
   Gypsy, the movie, is a fun-filled version of life on the road for a vaudeville troupe. Yes, there are hard times, but nothing so bad. Gypsy the memoir describes eviction, near starvation, nights of sleeping in the cars, almost frozen, con artists - real life struggle.
   
   It's a quick read that is terribly fascinating. I highly recommend it.



2. "Gypsy" is an autobiography by one of the most famous pair of sisters of the 1940's: Gypsy Rose Lee, born Louise Hovick, the stripper, actor, and eventual talk show host; sister to June Havoc, the actor, born June Hovick. In it, Lee covers some of the same material as does Havoc in her two-book autobiography: Their vaudeville childhood on the road with their monstrous stage mother Rose,and their adult struggles to continue their showbiz careers, and to deal with their mother. This book, furthermore, is the basis for the brilliant stage musical and movie, "Gypsy."
   
   Perhaps because she was the elder sister, perhaps because she was more business-minded, Lee's book provides a much fuller, more accurate picture of their vaudeville years than do Havoc's. She cites actual contracts, salaries, and the logistics of their never-ending trouping, from Vancouver, Canada to Tiajuana, Mexico; from San Francisco, California, to Portland, Maine. She names the many animals that trouped along with them, including numerous dogs and guinea pigs, a cat or two; Gussie the goose; Waupie the lamb; Gigolo the monkey; and Porky the pig.
   
   She gives more complete versions of incidents than June does, such as the time "Roxy" Rothfels, an influential New York theater owner-impresario, wished to buy June's contract to see that she got training in singing and dancing equal to her talents; he was repulsed by a hysterical Rose. (June's recounting of the story is so sketchy that it's puzzling.) Gypsy, moreover, seems to have monopolized the few pictures of their earliest years for her book; June's books are scantily illustrated.
   
   Gypsy tells us about meeting the handsome young manager of a Detroit bookstore, George Davis. (It's beyond the scope of this book, but Davis was eventually to invite her to that famous literary boarding house in New York's Brooklyn Heights' Middagh Street, where she was to live with W.H. Auden, Carson McCullers, Jane and Paul Bowles, and Benjamin Britten, almost everyone of them alcoholic and gay, though she was not. She was to bring the money and the cook that kept the enterprise going a few years more, and Davis, a highly-talented editor, was to midwife her phenomenal first book, "The G-String Murders.")
   
   The author does tell us of the day she became Gypsy Rose Lee (Gypsy, a traveling entertainer;Rose, Mom's name; and Lee for Louise) on the marquee, and a burlesque star. She was fifteen years old. She talks about working with Fanny Brice, her years with the Minsky Brothers, and in Florenze Ziegfeld's "Follies." She mentions her frequent arrests, and the inspired publicity stunts that kept her in the public eye for many a year. She closes her book with the call to Hollywood. The attempt to extend her career to films was not ultimately successful, but her career as an entertainer was to last for quite a while yet.



3. Rose Louise Hovick is known to the whole world as Gypsy Rose Lee a highly respected top paid burlesque queen of her day. In the 1930's Gypsy turned stripping from sleaze into an art form, this was done with the main use of tease, quick wit and intelligence all done with her tongue in cheek style, quoting well known Literature phases even in French. This book is bewitchingly colourful; it keeps you engaged throughout each chapter with Gypsy's smart, comic storytelling.
   
   This book takes you back to Vaudeville those wonderful days of the family oriented shows in there heyday. Gypsy describes what it was like to be part of the Orpheum circuit on stage and behind the scenes. Gypsy Rose Lee wants us to remember Rose Louise Hovick little miss nobody the talentless one. A girl with the bad teeth who played one of the boys in the back row of her little sister's show, Dainty June And Company.
   
   Dainty June and co. was run by Mama Rose the famous of all show biz mothers. Mama Rose real name Rose Thompson married John Hovick, Rose was age fifteen she had her two girls then divorced him. A very shrewd woman who had an intoxicating and intimidating personality. Con artists, awkward jealous stars and gangsters would not get in the way of her plans, being a star that's what mattered. Vaudeville had been fading for sometime the talkies were taking off, although Mama Rose thought Vaudeville was just going through a bad patch much worst happened Dainty June runs away from her all consuming mother at thirteen and gets married. Mama Rose decides this is just a hiccup in the mean time it was all about making money; Rose Louise Hovick is now the money maker but how! They still had to find her talent. Determination, Mama Rose was unstoppable lies and deceit she would succeed however rough it gets, seedy hotels, living in a tent, where there was a will there was a way. Through the eyes of a young girl, silently watching, learning, waiting, waiting and waiting all Rose Louise needed was a chance, a chance to shine and it came in an expected way.
   
   An array of real life comedy characters shine through in this book. None larger than life Mama Rose herself, tricks up every sleeve and woe betide anyone to cross her path. Grandpa and Big Lady (Grandma) always on hand to bail them out. June Horvick Sister to Gypsy (Was Dainty June became a Film Star in her own right without Mama Rose intervention) Fanny Brice famous stage star/Baby Snooks gave Gypsy her first acting role as a child (Barbra Streisand portrayed Fanny Brice in the film Funny Girl) Billy Minsky ran burlesque theatre shows in New York and gave Gypsy her break as a big star. Rags Ragland (John Lee Morgan Beauregard Ragland) had been a boxer, then a burlesque comedian, broadway performer, then Hollywood, Good Friend to Gypsy in her early days. Florenz Ziegfeld, Ziegfeld Follies took on Gypsy. Waxey Gordon, bootlegger racketeer, gangster helped get her teeth fixed. Lastly and let me not forget those wonderful comedy animals that performed and travelled with them around the country one by one they lost their lives in a tragic way but bless them all.
   
   This book is sheer Entertainment, In the prologue Gypsy mentions that although her memory of things are sharp and clear for the trivia; her memory of names and dates escape her in certain places but you can deduce from historic events what year you are actually in. Maybe for yourself as a reader you may find this irritating especially with the lack of dates but after reading the whole story you begin to understand, date juggling became part of life when Gypsy was a child.
   
   Example: Gypsy birth date changed frequently depending on what town and theatre they worked that month or week and they were endlessly trouping around. Gypsy was constantly underage (Mama Rose went to great lengths to change documentaion when need be). Newspapers were only read for reviews of their performances of their shows. Dates on a day to day basis were not necessary or a requirement to gypsy as a child she was to busy trying to remember her new date of birth and different details to keep the authorities at bay.
   
   A few other pointers the publication of this book was back in 1957 taboo's were still out there, this book is based on Gypsy's early days. Relationships with men therefore were few and only briefly covered.
   
   Gypsy only son Erik Lee Preminger although was introduced in the Prologue was still only young at the time of publication and out of respect for him absent details in certain places may have been for that reason. Another reason may have been for Gypsy's own privacy and precautions of those times. Take all this into account when reading.
   
   Even though I have mentioned the above points this does not take anything away from the book, it's completely fascinating to read what shines through was Gypsy Rose Lee's incredible Zest for life and her intelligence. It's Irresistible.



4. Many people don't knwo who Gypsy Rose Lee was, if you don't she was one of the most highly respescted highly, highly paid strip teasers in the business. What made her different though was the class with which she did it. There was nothing leude, or vulgar about her acts, which was what made her a star. If you like reading about lives you normally wouldn't, like a burlesque queen. Then this is definately for you. She had an amazing life, and anyone can learn alot about how to face life through this book. It is not that long and is fast paced, filled with comedic interludes. All I can say is enjoy the show...



5. Much like the style of her burlesque, Gypsy Rose Lee's memoir offers just a tantalizing glimpse of the real Louise Rose Hovick.

   Breathlessly relating her childhood spent in the popular, family-oriented entertainment of the early 1900s vaudeville variety show circuit with her star younger sister, "Dainty" June, and their shrewd stage manager and mother, Rose, Lee easily engages readers. Pages fly by, from skits in front of local lodge brothers to shows before burgeoning audiences in lavish theaters across the country as they tirelessly shop their ever-polished singing, dancing and comedy act. A faint picture slowly emerges of Lee as a bright, introverted young girl yearning for more attention. Despite the rough road life and her own disappointment, not much self-pity shows.

   What does show clearly is Lee's budding business savvy. After her sister leaves the act, Lee turns the tragedy into opportunity with a little peroxide and PR. Cleverly, she also leaves her hair dark, creating a distinguishing detail out of a common hair color. As vaudeville dries up and she transitions to burlesque, she again demonstrates uncanny sense in choosing her famous stage name. A shorter portion of the book details her rise to the top of the burlesque world, a story peppered with desperate scam artists, benevolent gangsters and jealous stars.

   Disappointing is the absence of some relevant detail. Dates are rarely specified, which might otherwise allow readers to more easily trace Lee's story and place it in context with other historical events. No discussion is offered about burlesque and the law, or Lee's thoughts about it. Famous vaudevillians such as Abbott and Costello are mentioned, but only in passing. Significant details are also conspicuously absent. Despite mention of her son, Erik, no mention is made of his father, and hardly any of her relationships are discussed. Privacy, timing and taboo may account for these latter absences, however.

   Perhaps, in not telling all, Gypsy Rose Lee suggests her greatest talent, grace.

5 comments about There's Money Where Your Mouth Is: An Insider's Guide to a Career in Voice-Overs.

1. I have a number of Voice over books, and this one is hands down my favorite. Even though I've worked in the voice industry for years, there are so many proven voice techniques in this book that I keep it handy in my studio. I strongly recommend it to beginning students as well as veterans.
   
   My favorite aspects of this book are:
   
   - outstanding presentation of the fundamentals of voice over. When you read each technique, it's absolutely clear how to use it AND how it improves the result.
   - great advice for revising my demos (or creating them if you don't have one)
   - interviews with copy writers and agents, to give a real-world view of the industry
   
   I've seen proven results in my own work, and I highly recommend this book to anyone serious about a career in voice over.



2. I'm at the beginning of my career in voice-over and I've read a good handful of books on the topic and taken tons of classes...but rarely has anyone "broken down" the essentials of technique quite as clearly and succinctly as Elaine Clark does in this book. For the first time, I felt like I had some practical tools I could refer to when approaching copy, which not only gave me a promising ground to start from, but also helped build my confidence and desire to "stick-to-it." Rather than give you hollow, abstract phrases about the need to connect emotionally to the copy, she shows you "how" to make it "yours." Obviously she's a great teacher with a lot of experience, as she leaves no stone unturned in this book with regards to what to expect in every aspect of this career and how to be best prepared so that you can succeed.



3. Elaine Clark is my guru. I have read this book a number of times since purchasing it in 2001, and I return to a number of specific passages when I need a refresher. Having worked steadily in this business for 20+ years, and having purchased many books on voice acting, I 've found "There's Money Where Your Mouth Is" to be my absolute favorite. The reader is taken from the basics to the multitude of details involved in running your own successful voice-over business.
   Thanks to Elaine Clark, I have grown professionally as a voice actor, and enhanced my voice acting and copy interpretation skills.



4. If you are at all interested in VO, get this book. I read it cover to cover a year ago, and I've been cherry picking those areas that I've needed to focus on ever since. Now that I've marked up my copy at least three times and pages are starting to break loose of their binding, I'm ready to get an agent and start working. If your an actor or improvisor this book will help all areas of your artistic endeavors. The nuances & subtleties of speech are examined in great detail. The bottom line throughout this book is how to stop "acting" and be real. The market is hungry for every day real people. There's a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow, pick it up.



5. This book is very helpful for those new to the industry. It contains information about putting your demo together, about getting an agent, and has sample copy to practice with, and tips for exercising your voice. I definitely reccomend this for anyone who is interested in trying this line of work for the first time.

5 comments about Death in the Afternoon.

1. At the time that Hemingway wrote this book the rather exotic art of bullfighting was fairly unknown to English audiences. Hemingway almost single-handedly drove many expatriate Americans and Europeans of the `lost generation' to the corrida. Some of his novels and short stories also have the bullring as a backdrop. This book is an interesting combination of Hemingway's literary flair and a how to book on the art of bullfighting. The bullfight experience (watching, that is) became a mandatory exercise for later, mainly American, male writers and formed a rite of passage for manly writing. One thinks immediately of Norman Mailer but there were others.
   
   Having watched a bullfight in Mexico I find it hard to see the interest that Hemingway and the others had in the sport. I do not care for prizefighting either. I will admit to having spent many a fruitless hour watching the 'bullpen' of the beloved home town Red Sox at Fenway Park blow a lead that would make any bull see red. On its own terms, Hemingway surely had more than an amateur interest in describing the ritual of the fight and grading the performances of man and beast. That part, in essence, the literary part is what held my interest. If one suspends a certain disbelief about the obvious surface brutality of the event and rather delves into the `man against nature' and `dancing with death' aspects that is where you will find Hemingway. Ole



2. For Ernest Hemingway, a fiesta wasn't a fiesta until someone got killed, preferably a 1,400-pound male bovine, horns dripping with horse blood, legs up in front of thousands of cheering Spaniards. That was the world of the bullfight, a world Hemingway discovered by accident while on a break from mingling with the Lost Generation in Paris, and made his own with the help of this book.
   
   First published in 1932, "Death In The Afternoon" may be what separates Papa's truest fans from mere admirers like myself. Most people who value writing understand that Hemingway wrote very well, but many like me would go on to say we wish he spent less time on attitude and posturing and developed a surer sense of focus, in line with "The Sun Also Rises" and "In Our Time." But for those who drink and fish and grow white beards in emulation of their hero, "Death In The Afternoon" is THE book precisely because it so messily captures Hemingway's self-image of the macho artist.
   
   "Death In The Afternoon" starts out with a rambling chapter that deals with American attitudes about bullfighting rather than the thing itself. It finishes with a self-indulgent one where he outlines all the things he left out as if giving a long-winded Oscar speech. In between is much to admire, for bullfighting aficionados and vegetarians alike, including some of the most arresting passages in American letters.
   
   "Someone with English blood has written: 'Life is real; life is earnest, and the grave is not its goal,'" Hemingway writes. "And where did they bury him? and what became of the reality and the earnestness?"
   
   Hemingway's theme, here and throughout the book, seems to be that death and suffering are the things of life, its essence and only ultimate truths. Only art lends them meaning. Of all art, Hemingway finds bullfighting the truest and most inspiring because of how close it is to the bone of the matter, to death, and how transitorily it is experienced. All art, even the most lasting, ultimately fades, but only in bullfighting is that impermanence accepted and understood.
   
   Hard words, hard philosophy. But Hemingway works hard too at entertaining the reader, often quite successfully. He tells of one matador's farewell performance where he dedicates the killing of his last bull before the fact to first one, than another, and then a third person, so caught up is he in the moment and his own eloquence. There is an ongoing discussion with an old lady frankly curious about the sex habits of both bull and bull-killer. He extols Faulkner, has at Huxley, and fesses up to how he must come off: "The fellow is no philosopher, no savant, an incompetent zoologist, he drinks too much and cannot punctuate readily...He is bull crazy."
   
   The book comes with a generous number of photographs with Hemingway-written captions that are works of art in miniature. Under a photo of a dead matador surrounded by people, he notes: "Only two in the crowd are thinking about Granero. The others are all intent on how they will look in the photograph."
   
   I didn't really buy Hemingway's take on some things, especially the issue of the horses. He opposes padding their undersides to protect them from bull horns as it violates the aesthetic of the performance. Then he writes of how the picadors riding the horse will use the horse's horning as a way of artificially tiring the bull to give the matador an easier time. Doesn't padding then produce a better bullfight?
   
   Hemingway also loses his train of thought, in ways that impair rather than enrich the reading experience. One moment he's talking about the handling of the muleta or the politics of the cuadrilla, the next he is talking about a pair of homosexuals or how langostinos are best enjoyed.
   
   It's really about a man discovering a country he loves, and in that sense, the Spanish backdrop is the best thing about "Death In The Afternoon." It's a love letter with more than a touch of sadness; the Spain Hemingway knew was about to be lost, to civil war and Franco, for the rest of his lifetime. But nothing was forever to Hemingway. In the world of the bullring, he found the closest thing to perfection he could believe in. Believe it or not, you have to admire the result.



3. An epic tome on the art and grandeur of Spanish bullfighting from one of America's greatest aficionados, Ernest Hemingway, who explicates the craft and spiritual intensity of this ancient European ritual through terse, journalistic, prose and rigorous scholarship. Not surprisingly, Hemingway is not terribly perturbed by the grotesque barbarity of the violence of bullfighting; Hemingway was an enthusiast of hunting and had little to no moral qualms about killing animals (and sometimes people). Yet he is not totally insensitive, warning the reader that most spectators of bullfighting are normally disgusted by the killing of the horses more than anything else.
   
   For Hemingway, the bullfight is not meant to be understood as an equal battle between man and beast. Rather, it is a tragedy, and the tragedy is for the bull who ought to be killed. He writes, "The best of all fighting bulls have a quality, called nobility by the Spanish, which is the most extraordinary part of the whole business" (113), yet Hemingway does not provide any comment on the utter absurdity of the whole business. Hemingway was a writer obsessed with, and in search of true courage in the face of natural danger and fate, and he found it most explicitly in war and in bullfighting.
   
   However, some readers will be surprised to find that `Death in the Afternoon,' is not simply about bullfighting. Hemingway also expounds quite at length about his views on art and the craft of writing. He says: "When writing a novel, a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature" (191). Unfortunately, Hem was never fully successful at creating a living woman, but every writer has a weakness. "A serious writer may be a hawk or a buzzard or even a popinjay, but a solemn writer is always a bloody owl" (192).
   
   Also included in this altogether excellent volume is a collection of stunning photographs depicting various stages of the bullfight and various matadors of fame; there are also fascinating portraits of the running of the bulls in Pamplona (echoing those fabulous sequences in `The Sun also Rises'). Additionally, Hemingway has provided the reader with a detailed glossary of important bullfighting terms for true aficionados. Originally published through Scribner in 1932.



4. One thing that Hemingway clears up is that bullfighting is not a contest between man and beast. It is a tragedy; no matter if the bull succeeds in killing the matador, and all the picadors and bandierros for that matter, he will still be executed after the fight. This is pure art, and nothing more. I can't explain why to you, but Hemingway says that it is very Spanish, and to understand it you must understand the Spaniards.
   
   This is just a general overview of bullfighting. The book is very descriptive and very much more worth your time. You will find that there is something of the bullfight and the muleta in all of us.
   
   The three steps of the bullfight are clear and showcase the bull. (It is worth mentioning that these are not just any bulls: they are finely bred fighting bulls that are too agressive to be good for anything else.)
   
   One: the bull shows his strength and bravery in the killing of the horses in the first stage with the picador. The picador pierced the muscle on his shoulder, therefore showing the bravery of the bull if he continues through the pain to gore the horse. After this stage, the dead horses are covered and the bandierros enter the ring.
   
   Two: The bandierros use small spears with hooks on them so they stay in the bull's hide. They are 'set' in pairs in the large hump of agrivated muscle over the withers. These are used to raise the neck of the bull and therefore weakening it so the matador can do his work. In this stage the bull is confused: he cannot (if the man knows his work and is not unlucky) catch the man as he did in the last stage. His courage is useless.
   
   Three: The matador enters the arena (or barrera, I believe...it's been a while) to finish the bull. At this stage, the bull is tired and his head is beginning to droop. His shoulders are covered in blood but he stands there arrogant. The matador cannot rise over the horns of the bull to kill in his origional condition; therefore, he must tire him over the course of the three stages. The matador does his part with the muleta (cape) and then kills the bull by stabbing him with a sword to his heart. It is here, Hemingway will tell you, that the bull is either said to be killed or assasinated. If the matador is competent, his body will come over the top of the horn. If the bull lifts his head, the matador is gored. Thus, in a proper kill, the bull in the end had a chance to kill again. If the matador pulls back at the last second and just stabs the animal without the threat, he is said to "assasinate."
   
   This is excellent. Your friends might look at you a little funny for reading about "killing bulls" and not understand that it is...well, an ART. This is just plain wonderful. Hemingway again does a terriffic job, showing more of his journalistic side than in For Whom the Bell Tolls.
   
   Excellent read, but not for everyone. Get it from the library and read the first few chapters. If you still feel sorry for the bulls after that, you're on your own.



5. 
   I'm glad to see a reissue of this classic in hardcover.
   
   If you are interested in bullfighting, Hemingway or Spain you should find this book interesting, enjoyable reading.
   
   It is a playful introduction into bullfighting and at the same time a reminiscence of Spain and bullfighting.
   
   The book deals with the art of bullfighting as it existed in the twenties.
   
   That said, most of the passes, techniques, tricks, foibles he describes still exist in bullfighting as it is practiced today. And while not extremely deep on the technical side of the subject, this is the most readable of any book on the technical aspects of bullfighting I've come across. If you want to understand the basics of bullfighting, this would be an excellent place to start.
   
   Hemingway profiles a handful of matadors. They are all from impoverished backgrounds, basic peasant stock, that despite the fame and money they never can quite leave behind this past. It was a much more dangerous profession then, before the advent of antibiotics when death from a septic wound was a risk from even a minor goring.
   
   Hemingway is unrestrained in his love of Spain and this shines through the book.

5 comments about Improvisation for the Theater 3E: A Handbook of Teaching and Directing Techniques (Drama and Performance Studies).

1. Very good, I am from México and can read it and apply it in my teachings. I specialize in physiscal theater and I still can grab allot of exercises from it.



2. A good student must always seek a master, and Viola Spolin is a master of improvisational theatre. The book is filled with powerful games and information to support not only improvisational theatre, but truthful acting and being "in the moment", a hallmark not only of improvisational theatre, but acting.



3. There's something strange about the way this book is written ... I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it's MEANT to be a TEXTBOOK, but ... it's just strange. It's like, you would think that the subject matter (improvisation) would be associated with a lot of excitement and energy, lots of enthusiasm ... instead, it's just a dry, boring textbook. Very cold and impersonal. The other books I've been reading, including Keith Johnstone's IMPRO, Chalma Halpern's TRUTH IN COMEDY, and Mick Napier's IMPROVISE, are written with enthusiasm and what seems like genuine joy ... the way you'd think a book on improv should be.
   
   Another thing that was odd - one of the co-authors is Paul Sills, who is apparently Viola Spolin's son ... yet in his "Foreward" (or maybe it's the introduction), he refers to her only as "Viola Spolin" this and "Viola Spolin" that ... again it just seemed so impersonal, like he was giving an academic speech before a bunch of old professors. No warmth at all.
   
   And all through the book, Viola Spolin uses the same cold, impersonal language to talk about what should be fun, amusing memories - like, instead of saying "Once in one of my classes there was etc. etc." she'll say "In a class taught by this author, an incident occured at which etc etc" ...
   
   These are minor things, I guess ... maybe I'm asking too much but I guess the bottom line is that, for me, this book (unlike the other books I've mentioned) failed to convey any sense of the thrill and delight that improv is.



4. After reading the first page of Spolin's first chapter I was intrigued. Several pages later, I was sound asleep. I attribute this to the fact that Viola Solin, when she's theorizing, writes like Immanuel Kant tripping on acid. This was especially discouraging, since I had just finished reading Audition by Michael Shurtleff, which is the most clearly written and insightful book on acting anyone could ever ask for.
   
   Skimming the exercise descriptions, I found some of them tedious ("Play a salesman with only your calves!") and some of them risible ("Scream with your elbow!"). Also, her chapter on Emotion seems to contradict the entire Method acting tradition, which, thankfully, she is in no danger of overthrowing.
   
   I'm sure that there are some useful points that this book makes, or might make through its exercises, if I cared to try them. But thanks to Spolin's soporific word-salad, her points are a pleasure to miss.



5. In fact any other book you may buy will have most of spolins ideas.
   If you are guiding any one in an improvisational education. this is the best. It is very important for improvisers to learn about comedic improv through spolins techniques. all other forms of improv is about the joke which lets face it is only funny because you know the performers. but spolin allows you to discover the scene not the joke. and if you are naturally a funny person chances are your scene will be funny. this is not to say that the funniest guy wont have a serious scene .some times when an improv is a true improv you have to let it be what it is whatever it is.
   great book. great book .fun book. gauranteed to give you guru status if you follow her instruction. after all you will be giving the most wonderful gift to all your students. your students will develope as improvisers the correct way and will be able to work with anyone.

5 comments about The Reduced Shakespeare Co. presentsThe Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged).

1. Absolutely Hilarious! I would love to go see this play, however the book has annotations that are priceless, so you won't want to miss this either. You won't be able to put this down.



2. I bought this to decide whether or not to audition for a part in a local theater group performing the play. I didn't audition because I was on the opposite side of the atlantic ocean at the time, but five stars without question. The Reduced Shakespeare Company does a hilarious job of telling every single shakespeare play faster than ever before. Read this play!



3. Awesome. As fun as a show can be. Audiences will love it. Readers will laugh aloud heartily.



4. Complete script of the Reduced Shakespeare company's Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged). The footnotes are priceless. I bought three so that we can preform it for our college drama group.



5. I am a theater student at Knox College and I absoluitly love this show. I is very funny and it is not only for those people that are English Lit majors. The show is fun and entertaining for everyone. The script is very funny and I would encourage everyone to check out other titles by this group of people.